Quick Hits: Stanton, Davis, Yankees, Peavy

Marlins star Giancarlo Stanton is already home from the hospital and is not expected to require major surgery, reports MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. Preliminary testing has not shown concussion symptoms, though Stanton will be closely monitored going forward. Needless to say, it is great to hear that things are looking up so soon after his frightening injury.

Here are a few more stray notes from around the game:

Underlying the suspension of Orioles slugger Chris Davis is the fact that Adderall addiction is a significant problem, especially among athletes, writes ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark. Davis has already tested positive for a stimulant and knew that he would receive additional testing, yet still was caught. Of course, as Stark does note, it is not known whether Davis himself has such a problem. It is worth bearing in mind, also, that Davis has been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD in the past, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. Rosenthal says that it remains unclear why Davis no longer sought to obtain a Therapeutic Use Exemption as he had at some points in the past.

If the Yankees decide to make significant free agent additions this year, the player to target is Victor Martinez, opines Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman acknowledges that the DH slot may be an attractive place to stash one of the team’s current veterans, but argues that Martinez is a rare offensive force who has demonstrated his ability to thrive against virtually all types of pitchers and pitches.

Giants righty Jake Peavy has continued to adapt and modify his repertoire as he has aged, as Eno Sarris of Fangraphs explores. The veteran hurler will hit free agency for the first time in his career at age 33. (He has already signed three separate contract extensions and been traded three times.) It is well worth your time to check out Peavy’s thoughts and grips, as well as relevant statistics on his pitch mix.

Comments

No thanks to V-Mart. While his offensive contributions would be greatly appreciated, for the Yankees the DH spot was supposed to be a revolving door to keep the veterans fresh. Of course, Beltran’s bone spur prevented that from happening for most of the year. Still, the Yankees don’t need a permanant DH.

They don’t need a permanent dh if they don’t wanna win… Beltran should be fine next year bc he is having surgery so he can play the field… Also nice having a backup for tex.. Look for Yankees to go after

Do you guys want a 280 million payroll?
V-Mart 16 million aav on his contract.
Headly 8 million aav on his contract.
Shields 22 million aav on his contract.
Lester 26 million aav on his contract.
Hardy 15 million aav on his contract.
McCarthy 10 million aav on his contract.
97 million per year… on top of 172 million in prior commitments = 269 million and you guys have not even addressed your bullpen/closer situation along with having arbitration raises would have you guys near 280 million. What you guys need is a rebuild.

McCarthy has a 3.98 ERA with a 3.40 FIP
Kazmir before this season had a 4.04 ERA and a 3.51 FIP
McCarthy by the end of this season will have 40-50 more innings in his walk year than Kazmir did. McCarthy before his last season had 2 straight years of if sub 3.40 ERA seasons. Kazmir before his walk year had a full year of being entirely out of baseball and the year before that only threw 1 and 2/3rd innings. Kazmir got 2 years at 22 million giving him a 11 million AAV. Based on the performances in their walk years and prior to that you would be foolish to say that Kazmir was a better player. (Kazmir also reinvented himself this offseason after he signed his contract so in my opinion his performance this year has no meaning to his value when they signed his contract) McCarthy WILL get 3 years. 10- 13 million AAV

I don’t see them going after both Shields & Lester. Perhaps 1 or the other. The rest make sense.

Lester > Shields but I’d rather the Yankees sign Shields. Last thing they need is another albatross contract. All the other guys you listed won’t get anything more than a 3 year deal (Maybee Shields gets a 4 year deal)

The problem is they won’t know if Tanaka is healthy until the season. And honestly I wouldn’t want Lirano as insurance. If Tanaka is gone, they need a true number one starter. The rest of the rotation is good, but not exactly trustworthy because of injuries or coming off injuries.

They need offense, and I’m not sure if Hardy power decline is real or if Headley will be better next year. I would bring Headley back though.

Agree but they dont know what to expect from CC and he is their only LHP..The yankees should stay away from Hardy. Hardy ,32 year of age, will probably ask for a 3-4 year deal and this year his power decline,Strickouts increase, and fielding % decline.

Replacing Jeter with a good hitting Shortstop could transform the Yankees lineup.
They need a new Shortstop badly, I would want to see them sign JJ Hardy.

They also need a 4th OFer, Chris Young is doing well, not be a bad fit on the cheap.

The game is won with pitching. You need shutdown pitching, in Yankee Stadium.
Tanaka, Sabathia, Nova = question marks.
Pineda, Greene, McCarthy = Depth (I’d bring back Kuroda 1 yr Deal)
Expect the Yankees to be in on Lester/Shields/Scherzer and also Cole Hamels.

Nova was injured before and came back and did just fine before he got injured again. Sabathia isn’t going to have his ace stuff anymore. He was successful because of his velocity on the baseball. Now he’s just a regular pitcher throwing 90 mph pitch.

The Yankees pitching did fairly well despite the injuries they had this season. They are in third place because of lack of offense

I’m interested to see how they improve their offense because as you can see on paper, they pretty much have every position filled. Will they sign Victor Martinez? Nelson Cruz? Trade for Tulowitzki? Who knows. This offseason for me has many unknowns. But if they can make some of the right moves they’ll be absolutely set. I also think they’d be foolish to let David Robertson leave. He and Betances are lock down.

We see every year that the Yankees WILL in fact spend their money, so we will probably see a big signing this offseason too. We haven’t seen many trades being done by the Yankees in the offseason, so I’m not sure about Tulowitzki

Ahh, well then that makes sense. Hopefully they do call up Refsnyder if he has a hot spring. Then again, who do they put at DH between A-Rod and Beltran? Though if they don’t call up Refsnyder, I can see Prado at 2B and Headley at 3B (this is of course if they re-sign Headley)

Only question they’ll have is at SS then. Prado has played there too but I don’t think it would be best for the team to put him there every day.

No, the game is won on pitching, hitting, and defense. Meaning it’s won on everything. No part of the game is more important than any other part. That’s a very outdated mentality to have. That said, the rotation will be Tanaka, Pineda, Sabathia, 1 free agent ace, and then one of Phelps/Greene or a McCarthy type of signing. Nova is out until at least June and I’m not sure how you’re calling Tanaka a question mark or Pineda depth.

Getting rid of A-Rod IS an awful idea. He’s owed $60m and when he’s healthy he’ll still hit .270 with 20 HRs and his UZR was still good last time he played. Sure he’s only worth about $15m these days and is a huge overpay, but he still produces and is on the books regardless.

I never said they Should do it, I said it’s not a bad idea. And I will say Nor is it a bad idea to keep him. Truthfullly I think it could depend on Beltran’s condition. If Beltran is somehow able to be a full time RFer next year, A-Rod could be permanent DH then (this is of course they sign Headley. If they don’t)

The league said it was amphetamines. Adderall is the most commonly used amphetamine, and Davis has used it in the past, so it is safe to take his word on that. In addition, if it was steroids as you are trying to imply, the penalty would have been much stronger. There are no 25 game suspensions for steroids.

What about the guy that was suspended, do they expect him to play 3b everyday? At that age, after being away a year? Obviously can’t trade that albatross of a contract. Seems to me their needs are bigger than a DH, no matter how good a hitter he is.

If Davis didn’t actually seek therapeutic exemption for Adderall use, that’s really just reckless. If he could convince the league last year that he met the diagnostic criteria for ADHD, they would have to believe the same this year, since ADHD can’t be “cured” by Adderall, just treated. It’s not that hard to convince someone you have ADHD, especially if you’ve received the diagnosis in the past. I really don’t get this. I know he’s not having a great year, but it is really a shame that he put the Orioles in this position due to his own apparent negligence. Sad.

No to V-Mart. Not that he isn’t a terrific hitter, but the Yankees need to move away from 35 year old DH-only players. Presumably, Beltran will be healthier next year,and the Yankees also don’t need to be giving up draft picks if V-Mart gets a QO. Time to rework the model a bit, since thanks to a few bad choices and even greater bad luck, the immediate future isn’t bright.

I would agree, no to V mart. But this Yankee offense needs DRAMATIC improvement. V Mart simple causes more clutter at the DH position which will be needed for the likes of A-Rod (should he return), Mcann, and Teixeira. The hallmark of good Yankee offensive teams has always been left handed power and good plate discipline…something we have certainly lacked this season. The Yankees will need to look towards the trade market to really upgrade this offense. In my wildest dreams I would like them to move Beltran, eating the salary if they have too, to try and make a run at Giancarlo Stanton. You would obviously have to blow the Marlins away to get him…Betances would certainly have to be in the deal along with a boatload of other prospects. High end relievers are much easier to find ( or produce which the Yankees have done through their farm system), than high end position players like Stanton